The Monster Within The Man
by Dark Drive
Summary: "You keep a secret for so long, you forget how much damage it can cause." When a new threat arises, Brendan Reyes Stark is forced to reveal his darkest secret to the Avengers and his father: That he's the newest Ghost Rider. [ Eventual OC x Wanda Pairing ]
1. History & Victory

**Plot Summary:** They never knew about the deal he had made, and the terrifying power that he had received upon making that deal. But with the arrival of a new threat, Brendan can no longer keep secrets from anyone. Not even The Avengers.

 **Pairings:** [ OC x Wanda Maximoff ]

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own The Avengers: Age Of Ultron or any of the characters. They rightfully belong to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

 **Note:**

Eligos - { **Talking** }

Brendan's Thoughts - " _Talking_ "

Jarvis - " **Talking"**

* * *

" _ **I ain't no angel**_

 _ **don't got no halo.**_ "

[ Brendan's POV ]

Powers can either be a blessing or a curse. They can bring peace or they can bring total and utter destruction. For me, I would say that my powers lie somewhere in the middle.

My name is Brendan Reyes Stark, I'm 22 years old. My adopted father is none other than the billionaire playboy genius, Tony Stark. You might know him as Iron Man.

And yes, I have powers.

But don't assume that Tony Stark had something to do with it, because how I got my powers was all me. And believe me, it's something I wished I had never done.

A long time ago, before I became orphaned, I had made a deal with the devil. And I'm not being metaphorical here, I literally made the deal with the actual devil. You see, I had been critically injured in a hit and run that killed my family. As I felt the darkness of death creep over me, I begged god or anyone who could hear me that my life at least be spared.

When death took me, a voice called out to me within the darkness and asked if I wanted revenge against the ones who had killed me and my family. And without question I had said yes.

I found myself breathing once again, and then the sound of a motorcycle approaching filled my ears as I found myself being flipped over by a mysterious stranger. But, when I saw his face I realized it wasn't a man at all.

It was the devil, he had no face, only a flaming skull with burning red eyes. He reached down and touched my face, and whatever he had, whatever was inside him was passed onto me.

I learned later on that what was passed onto me was a demonic spirit who called himself Eligos. And Eligos explained to me that I had now taken up the mantle as the bounty hunter from hell:

The Ghost Rider.

Later on down the road, I had been adopted by Anthony 'Tony' Edward Stark. Of course, he wasn't exactly father material in my eyes but with later events such as Stane, Vanko and The Avengers, Tony became more and more like a father to me.

Of course in those times, nobody knew of Eligos's existence except me. I did all I could to keep them hidden.

However, that was all about to change.

* * *

Location: Avengers Tower, New York City.

[ 3rd POV ]

It had been another eventful day at the tower, with The Avengers out on a mission to retrieve Loki's Scepter from HYDRA. Brendan was stuck at the tower as always, but he always kept himself occupied.

He mainly kept busy by working on his car, which was a black 1969 Dodge Charger R/T. It had California Plates that said '299 ZXB'. The car had been heavily modified, it had a 426 Hemi in it with a visible blower sticking out the hood. The rear tires were replaced with larger slick wheels. It also had two nitrous oxide tanks hidden under the back seat. The gear shift had a word etched into the handle that said 'Guilty'.

Eligos had appropriately named his car: The Hell Charger.

Brendan however refers to the car as Lucy, which is secretly a shortened version of the name Lucifer.

The song L.S.F. by Kasabian blasted from speakers that surrounded Brendan and Tony's work area.

Brendan had just finished putting the finishing touches on the car, he had also gotten it finally registered today. It had passed inspection with the DMV, making it street legal.

As he wiped some sweat off his forehead, Brendan heard the familiar sound of the Quinjet landing on it's pad on the side of the tower. Putting his tools down and washing his hands of the grease that covered them, Brendan headed upstairs to greet his father and the others. Of course, he went and changed shirts right before he entered the room cause if this mission was successful, Thor was without a doubt going to give him a rib crushing hug.

He entered the room, and saw that indeed the mission had been successful as they were currently unloading Loki's Scepter off the Quinjet. Brendan's green hues searched the area until they locked onto his father, who was currently talking to Bruce Banner.

Brendan smiled, and of course made his way over towards Tony before placing a hand on his back.

"So, mission was successful?" Brendan asked his father, giving a sorta of cheery tone.

"Yeah, we got the staff." Tony nodded in agreement, before detecting the smell of engine grease off Brendan's hand. This caused a little grin to tug at the man's lips as he looked at his son.

"You finished her?" Tony asked, a bit happily as he always knew that Brendan had a bit of Stark in him.

"Yup, she's done. I just put the new fan-belt in, added oil and all the essential fluids and put on the new plates." Brendan said, rather confidently as Tony chuckled.

"I'll want to take a look at her, you know?" Tony asked, he almost sounded excited as Brendan reached into his back pocket. He pulled out a holographic handheld device and hit a few buttons on it as a large holographic screen projected over the two of them.

And on the screen was Lucy, Tony had to whistle as he saw her. Her black paint glistened under the fluorescent bulbs. Stark had to hand it to Brendan, he did a pretty good job.

"Ah! Son Of Stark!" The booming sound of Thor's voice echoed as Brendan turned around to be greeted by the Asgardian who proceeded to embrace Brendan in a hug.

"Yes. . ." Brendan tried to speak, but Thor's hug was pretty strong. He had a bit of difficulty breathing at first. ". . .it's good to see you too, Thor!" He finished as Thor put him down.

{ **His hugs are getting stronger, you know?** } Eligos had finally decided to speak after being quiet for so long.

" _I know, I think he's trying to do it on purpose._ " Brendan replied, but the reply had been within his head as only Eligos spoke in Brendan's mind.

"Will you be celebrating with us?" Thor asked, as Brendan turned to look at Tony with a head tilt of confusion.

"Oh! We're celebrating our victory with a party later on tonight." Tony told Brendan, who replied with an 'ah'.

" **I had already taken the liberty of preparing you with an attire for the party, Brendan."** JARVIS's voice spoke then, as Brendan mentally sighed. He was not much of a party guy on account that he didn't have many friends other than the Avengers. And it felt awkward to Brendan.

But, this was a prominent victory for his father's team tonight, so it would only be fair if he attended this party.


	2. Ultron & Revealed Secrets

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It belongs to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

* * *

" _ **I cut off my wings**_

 _ **Made my momma scream**_

 _ **I'm your darkest dream**_ "

Location: Avengers Tower, New York City

[ 3rd POV ]

The party of course, was booming. The Avengers were scattered amongst the hordes of people. Chatting with some of the guest. Steve invited Sam over and Tony invited Rhodes.

Brendan was however was standing near the window, a beer in hand as he looked out the window at the city of New York. He was not good with crowds, well, normal crowds that is.

{ **Kid, what are you even afraid of? You afraid some of their norm will rub off onto you?** } Eligos began to joke as Brendan rolled his eyes.

"It's not that, Eli. I just..." Brendan started.

{ **You what? Oh! Are you afraid to talk to a girl? The only women in your life has been two SHIELD agents who are way out of your damn league.** } Eligos teased, which caused Brendan's cheeks to turn a slight shade of red.

"Eligos, shut the hell up. It's not that, I just don't feel like I fit in. My father and the others are heroes, they are well known. Me, I'm just known as Tony Stark's kid." Brendan told Eligos, before looking into the window and noticing his eyes were glowing a fiery orange. Brendan took a deep breath, and the glow faded away reverting his eyes back to their normal green.

{ **You are /more/ than just Tony Stark's kid. You are the Ghost Rider, and maybe if you told them then maybe you—** }

"No!..." Brendan stopped him, but barely raising his voice so that he didn't arouse suspicion. "...They aren't ready to know."

"Ready to know what?" A voice called out to him from behind as Brendan turned to see Natasha standing behind him.

"Hello, Nat. What brings you over to this riveting side of the party?" Brendan teased, a small grin on his lips.

"I saw you standing here all by your lonesome, I thought you could use some company?" Natasha offered.

Brendan couldn't exactly say no to Natasha, not many knew but the two were actually good friends. Nat had been very supportive with Brendan over the years.

"Sure, why not?" Brendan gestured, wanting her to stand by his side.

Natasha graciously took the offer and moved forward, standing at his side now as the two stared out the window.

* * *

[ A few hours later ]

The party quickly began to die down, most of the guest left leaving only the Avengers and Brendan left. Of course, that was when someone gave the brilliant idea to see who could lift Thor's hammer.

Brendan, of course simply watched as each one of the Avengers failed in a hilarious fashion to try and lift Mjolnir. With each attempt, Brendan only shook his head and tried not to burst out laughing. Brendan almost lost it however when he saw Steve move it just slightly with Thor looking slightly surprised.

Of course, that all changed when Barton looked over at Brendan and said:

"Hey, let's see if the Stark Junior can do it."

Brendan froze as he looked at Barton.

"Dude, you know that if dear old dad couldn't do it then I can't." Brendan tried to counter, taking a sip from his beer.

"Well, I for one want to see if the kid can do it." Steve then joined in, Brendan was trying not to sigh.

{ **We can lift that thing, Brendan.** }

" _Dude, you're not an Asgardian Deity! You're a demonic spirit!_ " Brendan tried to tell Eligos.

{ **Well, if we fail then at least we can at least say made it move a millimeter?** }

" _I'm gonna look like an idiot, but at least I'll be taking your ass with me on board the humiliation train._ " Brendan told him as he looked at Barton.

"Alright, Alright. I'll give it a shot, but when I become king I'm bringing some badassary to Asgard." Brendan told Thor, pointing at him with a teasing grin as he got up and walked over to where Mjolnir was sitting.

Brendan wrapped his hands around the handle of the hammer, giving it a hard tug. The hammer however didn't budge, not even an inch. A sheepish expression formed on his face before his cheeks turned a bright shade of red.

"Well, there goes my plan to make all Asgardians wear Halo Spartan Armor. . ." Brendan said, gaining a few laughs from the group.

"You gave it your best shot, kid." Steve told Brendan, giving him a small pat on the back.

"Let's face it, that thing probably only responds to Goldilocks touch." Brendan commented, looking over at Thor who proceeded to get up and walk over towards Mjolnir.

"Yes, well I have a simpler answer for that..." He then bent down, grabbing ahold of the handle of his hammer before lifting it up into his arms with absolute ease. Flipping the hammer forward before catching it on its handle once more. "...You're all not worthy."

That gained a laugh from everyone, including Brendan who chuckled a bit. However, the laughing was cut off when a high pitched sound filled the air. It was sharp, and it caused several people to cover their ears.

Brendan however, had to clutch his head with slight pain as it physically hurt him.

"Wo..rt..thy..." A raspy voice said from the other side of the room.

That was when the sound of a pair of metallic footsteps was heard, Brendan managed to push the pain aside as all eyes turned to see one of Tony's Iron Legion suits. Although, it wasn't much of a suit. It looked like it was barely functional. It had holes and was walking like it was crippled.

"How can you be worthy? You're all killers..." The suit said, looking over the Avengers.

Steve remained expressionless. "Stark..."

Tony was on it however, his device out as he tried to shut off the suit. "JARVIS?..."

"I'm sorry, I was asleep. Or...I was a dream." The suit said once again, it's movement was oddly human like.

"Reboot, we got a buggy suit." Tony tried to get JARVIS to help, but JARVIS wasn't responding.

"...All this terrible noise, and I was tangled in...strings." The suit continued on, Brendan however remained incredibly focused. Until the suit said.

"...Had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy..."

{ **This thing isn't part of your old man's group. I'm sensing something. A foreign presence. This thing, it isn't a machine.** } Eligos said to Brendan, whose facial expressions tightened at the fact that this thing killed someone.

"You killed someone?" Steve asked, his expression showing a bit more anger.

"Wouldn't have been my first call...but down in the real world we're faced with ugly choices..." It continued to speak.

"Who sent you?" Thor asked.

And that's when the bomb dropped, the sound of an audio clip being rewound was heard before a familiar voice was heard.

"I see a suit of armor around the world." Came the voice of none other than Tony Stark, this gained a stare from Brendan who looked at his father then at the suit.

That's when Bruce came with a realization.

"Ultron..." One word, but it said it all.

"In the flesh...well not yet...not this Christmas...but I'm ready..." Ultron said, the fluids from the suits hydraulics leaking all over the ground.

Brendan noticed how Thor was gripping his hammer and Maria already had her gun in hand.

"I'm on a mission..." Ultron continued to speak

"What mission?" Natasha asked.

Ultron looked up at the whole group, and said only four words which caused the floodgates to open.

"Peace Of Our Time."

And with those words, Iron Legion suits flew out from the wall behind Ultron and quickly rushed towards the Avengers. Steve was the first to react by kicking the table upwards to try and form a barrier.

One of the suits however, flew around and headed straight towards Brendan, who was unable to react in time as the suit slammed into him with the force of a semi-truck. Brendan was thrown from his spot and landed a floor down onto his back, the pain was brief but it was enough to gain a small little yell from him.

The suit aimed one of its repulser hands at Brendan, preparing to fire but Brendan's eyes snapped right open and they were ablaze with that fiery orange color as he picked himself up and quickly rushed the suit.

Maria was rushing to check on Brendan, to make sure he was alright but was surprised to see Brendan tackling the suit to the ground with shocking amounts of strength. The most noticeable thing she saw was his eyes that were glowing a fiery orange.

Brendan's hand wrapped around the suit's throat, his eyes glowed brighter. A demonic roar left his throat, and within seconds the suit caught aflame before quickly turning to a pile of ash.

Maria was taken aback, in fact, she was quite shocked. She had never expected the young Stark to have any sort of powers.

Brendan picked himself up, taking off the tuxedo jacket that was clearly shredded as he looked into Maria's eyes. His heart stopped for a moment as he realized that he had just revealed his secret.

But of course, it wasn't the most important goal right now. Brendan of course walked right past Maria without a word. He walked over to a smashed window, where it revealed that one of the suits had knocked a winch loose. Brendan reached down, and grabbed the chain as he yanked it out from it's housing before heading upstairs.

Repulser blast were going off all around upstairs as the remaining Legion Suits tried to hit the Avengers. Tony was currently behind cover as he noticed Brendan walking into the clearing, a look of horror on his face as Ultron turned to face him.

"BRENDAN! RUN!" Tony screamed, the other Avengers urging him to run but it was too late.

With his good arm, Ultron raised it up and fired a repulser blast right at Brendan.

But, to everyone's shock, Brendan took the blast with full force and didn't move an inch. The only thing that appeared to have happened was that there was now a quarter sized hole in the side of Brendan's cheek from where the blast struck most.

"Hm, it seems that you were harboring a secret of your own..." Ultron mused, as Brendan's eyes glowed brightly with that fiery orange as the wound on his face began to glow brightly.

"Time to pay for your sins..." Was all Brendan said before his face began to steam. The room got slightly hotter before everyone watched as the skin on Brendan's face began to melt away, his eyeballs vanishing and instead being replaced with two glowing orbs. When the last of the skin melted away, Brendan's skull lit aflame. Scarring along the base of the skull glowed with orange fire as a demonic roar left his throat.

Tony's expression was that of horror and shock, Steve couldn't believe what he was seeing. Natasha and Bruce were just as shocked as everyone else. Thor ACTUALLY rubbed his eyes to make sure that what he was seeing was real. And Barton just stared with a jaw wide open.

Brendan, now fully transformed into The Rider, lifted the chain up as it lit aflame with fire. He whipped it forward and the chain suddenly went rigid, the tip changed shape into a spear like tip as it quickly drilled into the head portion of the suit. He yanked it back out, as the suit fell to the floor dead.

But the damage was far worse, as one of the suits had escaped with Loki's Scepter.

And not only that, but Brendan's secret had been fully revealed. The entire team now knew of what he was: The Ghost Rider.


	3. Truth

**Author's Note:** I'm glad to be hearing that people are enjoying this concept! More chapters will definitely becoming!

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It belongs to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

 **Note:**

" _ **Eligos Using Brendan's Body**_ "

* * *

" _ **They call me devil**_

 _ **My heart is empty**_

 _ **They call me devil**_

 _ **Just try and tempt me**_ "

Location: Avengers Tower, New York City.

[ 3rd POV ]

The remains of the suit Ultron used were sitting on Tony's workbench, the team were scattered around the room. Brendan however was sitting furthest away from everyone, his clothes tattered with burn holes. The hole that Ultron had put in the side of Brendan's cheek was gone, it had healed completely as if it never existed.

{ **Well, on the other hand they know...** } Eligos tried to make a positive, but Brendan only grimaced a bit.

" _This isn't how I wanted them to find out..._ " Brendan told Eligos, his tone within his mind was soft and rather fearful.

Tony hadn't even looked at Brendan since he had untransformed out of his Ghost Rider form. And with good reason, he felt betrayed. Brendan had lied to him, hid something from him. But, why would he do that? Why would he hide this incredible power from his own father?

Steve looked at Tony, then towards Brendan. While Tony did have every right to feel the way he did, Steve knew that Brendan had good reason to hide his powers from everyone. And the look Steve could see in Brendan's eyes showed clearly that he was afraid. The others could see it as well. What Brendan possessed was something that was incredibly powerful, not to mention very dangerous. But it appeared that Brendan had a good handle on it.

Steve walked over towards Brendan, sitting down next to him as he placed a hand on the young Stark's shoulder.

"I know you think that everyone here is angry with you. But we're not, we just want to know why you hid this from all of us?" Steve asked, his tone soft and comforting as he gave Brendan's shoulder a comforting squeeze.

A sigh passed his lips, as he looked at all the eyes around the room looking right at him. He knew it was time to come clean.

"Because, you all weren't ready.

I..no...we needed more time. We wanted to make sure I was mentally prepared for your reactions when the time came." He explained, earning a raised brow from Banner.

"We? Who is we?" Bruce asked, moving up a bit with curiosity.

"Me and Eligos.

To put it simply, he's my other guy.

Eligos is a demonic entity, and he's the source of my powers." Brendan explained to the group, as Natasha stepped forward now and sat down on Brendan's other side.

"He's from Hell, that's what you're saying?" Natasha asked, looking into Brendan's eyes.

The young Stark looked over at Natasha.

"Hell is relative.

Dimensions, space, planets. It's all connected.

Plenty of them can qualify as Hell."

"So this Eligos comes from another dimension, almost like the Chitauri?" Bruce asked this, a curious gaze on the young Stark.

"In simple terms, yes that's correct." Brendan agreed, giving Banner a nod.

That's when Tony spoke up.

"I don't know how you can all be so calm about this? He lied to us all! He lied to me most of all!" Tony yelled, with Brendan cringing a bit.

"Tony, the look on your sons face explains it! He was scared!" Barton then finally stepped in on this.

"I was more than scared..." Brendan spoke up, standing up to look into the eyes of his father.

"...I was terrified.

Tony, you don't know how many times I wanted to tell you about this but I was moreso afraid that you'd be unable to handle me. That you'd send me right back to the orphanage! So I kept it hidden and worked with Eligos on controlling my powers!" Brendan yelled right back at his father, which caused Tony to be taken aback by the outburst.

"Brendan, I—" Tony started but Brendan simply put his hand up.

"Don't.

Not now.

We need to focus on the task at hand.

And that's Ultron." Brendan told everyone as he took a deep breath.

"Now, he said he killed someone." Brendan continued.

{ **But I didn't sense it. If someone is killed without cause then we'd detect it.** } Eligos explained, but only getting a nod from Brendan who was the only one who could hear him.

That was when Maria spoke up. "But there wasn't anyone else in the building."

Tony stepped forward, his handheld device in hand as a pained expression appeared on his face.

"Yes there was." Before he pushed on the device, and a 3D image of JARVIS's consciousness appeared. But he wasn't whole. He was destroyed.

Brendan stepped forward, a look of shock on his face as he looked at the remains of JARVIS. His fist began to ball up as his eyes burned with fire once again.

"This is insane..." Bruce said, looking over the destroyed consciousness.

"JARVIS was the first line of defense, he would've shut Ultron down. It makes sense." Steve said, arms folded over his chest as he looked down.

"No, Ultron could've assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is...rage." Bruce interjected.

Suddenly, Thor grabs hold of Stark by his throat and holds him up. Brendan however locked onto Thor as a demonic growl left his throat. Eyes ablaze with fire as he prepared to reach for the chain he used on Ultron earlier, only for Natasha to grab his wrist and stop him as she then placed her hand in his. Giving it a squeeze, which caused the glow in Brendan's eyes to subside.

Tony tried to talk to Thor, despite being held by his throat. "Come on. Use your words, buddy!"

Brendan felt Eligos clawing at him, the glow returning once more as he released Natasha hand and walked up behind Thor and grabbed his wrist which was holding Tony's throat.

" _ **Thor! Stop it right now! We have bigger problems right now than to deal with your incessant anger over the current situation!**_ " Instead of Brendan's voice, Eligos's deep demonic voice left Brendan's vocals as his eyes were ablaze with fire.

Bruce stepped forward, but trying not to get too close near Brendan as he spoke up.

"Are you Eligos?"

Eligos didn't move, but his eyes looked back at Banner.

" _ **Yes, I am Eligos. I am The Spirit Of Vengeance and what gives Brendan the powers of The Ghost Rider. And right now I do not need any further conflict amongst this team. You are not only making it more difficult for Brendan, but for me as well!**_ " Eligos spoke, his tone clearly angered as he looked back at Thor who proceeded to put Tony down.

" _ **Thank you.**_

 _ **Now, if you'll excuse me...**_ " Eligos said as Brendan's eyes slammed shut for a brief moment, before snapping open to reveal the glow had completely vanished. Brendan stepped back from the group, hands trembling in sheer terror as he looked at them all.

"I..I'm...I'm sorry!" Was all he said before he left the room in a speed walk, not bothering to look behind him.

* * *

They entered the workshop, where Lucy sat as Brendan climbed inside the car and slammed the door shut.

"What the fucking hell, Eligos!? WHY DID YOU DO THAT!?" Brendan yelled, quite angry at him.

{ **I wasn't gonna let infighting start, I had to intervene because you're too scared to do it yourself.** } Eligos explained to Brendan, his tone calm.

"I don't need you speaking for me, Eligos! From now on, only come out when I ask you to. Got it?" Brendan ordered, the clear sign of anger still lingering within him.

{ **I gotcha, I won't do it again.** } Eligos replied, going silent soon after.

Brendan sighed, placing his forehead against the steering wheel of Lucy as tried to figure out what was gonna happen to him? Where would his fate lie in this?


	4. An Unbreakable Mind

**Author's Note:** I know the last chapter was a bit short, but I got a lengthy one for you to make up for it! I'd love to collaborate with some people, who can help keep this story going and more interesting as it comes along! Don't hesitate to message me if you have some ideas you want incorporated!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It belongs to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

* * *

" _ **Once there was a time when we could learn**_

 _ **All the simple pleasantries a follower should yearn**_

 _ **Now all that I can do is watch them burn**_

 _ **And wish that I could save them all, or just one**_ "

Location: Avengers Tower, New York City.

[ 3rd POV ]

Within the workshop, the song Justify by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus played over the speakers.

Brendan had not left the workshop since Eligos had taken over his body yesterday. He had been working on Lucy some more, adding new modifications to her in terms of defenses.

The biggest addition was an internal device within the engine which Brendan called a Soul Drive. It was a culmination of both Brendan and Eligos's genius. The Soul Drive would allow Eligos to safely leave Brendan's body and possess Lucy, without risk of Brendan losing his powers.

Other additions mainly came from some of Tony's old armor variants. Lucy was now capable of flight. Using a combination of the beastly 426 Hemi that was housed within the Charger's engine compartment and Eligos's power, the car would be able to reach speeds that exceed even Tony's newest suits. The car also was equipped with repulser blasters, heat and electronic seeking missiles, duel fusion lances, as well as an EMP generator. The blower could also now double as a flamethrower.

As Brendan wiped his face of sweat with a rag, he looked over the car once more as he had just finished waxing down Lucy for a second time due to him installing the new upgrades.

"Hey, look at the bright side! You'll be able to join the battle and not just be a backseat rider in my body." Brendan commented, earning a little chuckle from Eligos.

{ **Finally! I get in on the action! Not that I don't enjoy being in here, but I'd like to be able to kick some ass once in a while.** } Eligos said rather happily, earning a small smile from Brendan.

Brendan caught the sight of someone heading into the workshop as he reached over and cut off the music, turning around to be greeted with the sight of his father.

Tony entered the workshop, his eyes looking around the room as parts of old suits of armor were scattered amongst the area. Pieces missing from them which were now installed within Lucy.

"I hope you didn't mind? I kinda had a bunch of ideas in mind for Lucy and I couldn't help myself." Brendan said to Tony, who walked over towards his son who was currently standing next to Lucy. The older Stark then placed a hand on the roof of the car, feeling over the smooth exterior before looking at his son.

"Listen, I..I shouldn't have reacted the way I did. I sometimes keep forgetting that you're not a child anymore, but instead an adult. I felt like I wasn't going to be able to protect you anymore. That I'd—"

Brendan stopped his father, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Dad, you will always be there to protect me. And now I'll be there to protect you. We're family, we look out for one another. That's how it works." Brendan told him, a smile on his features.

Tony began to give a small smile as looked down at the car, then back at Brendan.

"Me and the others did a lot of thinking, and we thought you would considering joining us? Being part of the Avengers?" Tony asked his son, which received a shocked yet happy expression from Brendan.

"You...you're serious? You want me to be an Avenger?" He asked, wanting to be sure that his dad wasn't messing with him.

Tony nodded, he was indeed serious. "You're an adult, and my son. You are allowed to make your own decisions."

Brendan looked down at Lucy for a few long moments, a sigh passing him before looking at his dad.

"Well, I got one thing to ask then?"

Tony's brow raised "What is it?"

Brendan's lips curved into a smirk "Will I get another chance to kick Ultron's ass?"

That earned a laugh from Tony as he gave his son a warm embrace. The tension between the Tony Stark and his son had seemed to disappear completely.

* * *

[ Later On ]

The Avengers had finally gotten a fix on where Ultron was gonna be. As he was looking to acquire Vibranium, but the purpose for getting it was still unknown to them.

Brendan had decided to wear his new attire, which consisted of black jeans, sneakers and a black short sleeve shirt. And fingerless leather gloves. Overtop of that shirt was his custom jacket. It was black leather, and on the front of the jacket was the symbol of the Ghost Rider which was stitched with white leather.

It wasn't like armor or a bulletproof suit, but it was perfect in Brendan's eyes.

Brendan had asked if he could take Lucy instead of getting onto the Quinjet, and of course was given the OK to do say as Tony knew of the modifications that he had installed into the car.

The Avengers boarded the Quinjet, which was on the landing pad. Lucy being parked right next to them as Brendan climbed into the driver's seat of the vehicle. Tony walked up to the cockpit and looked out the window to watch and see if his son's modifications held up.

"Alright, let's see if our brilliance paid off." Brendan told Eligos, as he reached forward and turned the keys that were housed within the ignition into the start. This caused the monstrous 426 Hemi to roar to life with primal fury.

{ **My fingers are metaphorically crossed right now!** } Eligos said, rather eager to see how this went.

Brendan reached down and a 3D menu appeared right next to him, he hit the button that said ' **Initiate Flight Sequence** ' as it blinked a few times before the transformation began.

[ **Insert Theme - Light Is Green By Kazuma Jinnouchi** ]

Underneath the chassis of Lucy, twin stabilizers unfolded in the front and rear axels which ignited with light blue flames. This pushed the Charger off the ground by a few feet, making it hover as the wheels folded into the wheel wells.

Black plates slid over the exposed wheel wells that locked into place. The rear fenders folded outward, forming wing like appendages. The rear taillights folded up to reveal rows of thrusters housed within the taillights. Which light with blue energy.

Within Lucy, all the readings that Brendan was receiving on Lucy's 3D console were reading green across the board.

"IT WORKED! MY GOD IT WORKED! I AM A FUCKING GENIUS!" Brendan exclaimed happily. The steering wheel suddenly transformed, turning into a control wheel similar to ones on jet planes.

{ **THIS IS SO FUCKING AWESOME!** } Eligos screamed, just as happy as Brendan was.

Within the Quinjet, Tony could only grin ear to ear at the sight of the now flying '69 Charger. Maria had a smug expression on her face as she saw it.

" _I should tell Coulson about this, he might get jealous and want to upgrade Lola further._ " Maria thought to herself, chuckling at the thought.

"Alright, let's move out." Tony said, as Brendan reached down and yanked back the throttle that had now replaced the gearshift. The rear thrusters whirred, combining with the 426 Hemi as Lucy took flight into the sky, with the Quinjet following closely behind.

* * *

Location: Salvage Yards, African Coast

It didn't take them long for them to arrive to their destination, which was a savage yard on the African Coast. Brendan landed Lucy closer towards the location where Ultron was since his vehicle was smaller and harder to track.

Brendan exited Lucy, walking around as he opened the trunk to reveal that he had an assortment of weapons. He grabbed only what he needed: His Hellfire Chain, which was an upgraded chain that hand a handle attached on the end for Brendan to grab a hold of. And he also grabbed his shotgun, which was a Winchester Model 1887 Lever Action Shotgun. The weapon had been modified and can also transform if Brendan channels some of Eligos's powers into the gun. He holstered it on his back as he wrapped the Hellfire chain around his torso.

Closing the trunk, he quickly made his way inside as he made it to where Ultron was. And where the rest of the Avengers were gathering as he could hear Ultron yelling.

"It's a thing with me. Stark is, he's a sickness!" Ultron yelled as Brendan could now see him, he had another body now. This one appearing to be of his own design as it wasn't anything like an Iron Man suit.

Speaking of, Iron Man landed right down behind Ultron as the rest of the Avengers joined in.

"Aw, Junior. You're gonna break your old man's heart." Tony quipped

Ultron turned around, being greeted with the Avengers as well as Brendan. The young Stark also noticed two others with Ultron, a man and woman. Tony had said their names were Wanda and Pietro Maximoff. They were enhanced individuals. As his dad put: Pietro is fast and Wanda is weird.

"If I have to." Ultron told Tony.

Thor decided to speak up. "We don't have to break anything."

"Clearly you've never made an omelet." Ultron said to Thor.

"He beat me by one second." Tony commented, as Brendan shook his head.

This time, Pietro was the one to speak up as he stepped forward.

"Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's what, comfortable? Like old times?" Pietro gestured all the Stark Industries weapons that were surrounding them as Brendan's eyes locked onto the white haired male.

"This was never my life." Tony said, still feeling guilt stricken about what he had done in the past.

Steve looked over at the twins "You two can still walk away from this."

Now, it was Wanda's turn to interject. "Oh, we will."

"I know you've suffered." Steve tried to explain as Ultron cut them all off.

"Uuughh! Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Ultron was then cut off by Thor.

"If you believe in peace, then let us keep it." Thor asked Ultron, who seemed to not care.

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Ultron said to Thor before his eyes looked upon Brendan.

"And you. I remember you, the last time I saw you, or better say the first, you were a bit...heated." Ultron spoke to the younger Stark, who seemed to only smirk.

"And when I saw you last, I had put a nice hole in your head.

Let's see if you'll last longer this time, okay? I want a nice challenge." Brendan cracked his neck.

Pietro looked at Brendan, his eyes narrowed dangerously at the younger male.

"You are a Stark? You do not have the same fire as he does. . ."

Brendan chuckled as he looked over towards Pietro.

"Nah, bro. Mine's much worse." He threatened.

"We'll see about that, boy." Pietro threatened right back, he seemed itchy to want to hurt Brendan.

"What's the Vibranium for?" Tony asked.

"I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take the time to explain about my evil plan," Ultron mocked, in an instance he had blasted Tony up against the wall and the two took their fight to the air.

" _You ready to rumble, Eli?_ " Brendan asked Eligos who only chuckled happily.

{ **Damn right! Let's get the hurt train a-rollin!** } Eligos exclaimed, which was all Brendan needed to hear as he gripped the hand of the Hellfire Chain and with a yank it unraveled quickly around his torso and ignited aflame with Hellfire.

The Iron Legions attacked, flying at Tony, Steve, Thor and Brendan. The young Stark whipped the Hellfire chain forward and swatted one of them out of the air, this caused the metal soldier to suddenly to combust and turn into a pile of ash.

Another iron soldier tried to rush him from behind but Brendan had quicker reflexes, he reached back and grabbed his shotgun and took aim. Pulling the trigger, the round hit the legion soldier with brute force as it ripped a hole directly into its chest. Brendan grabbed the soldier by his head and the proceeded to yank it off with ease.

Wanda stood in the shadows, watching the fight. "It's time for some mind games" One of Ultron's copies muttered to Wanda and the brunette slunk into the shadows.

Brendan watched as Wanda tried to run, and quickly rushed after her. Wrapping the Hellfire Chain around his torso and bolstering his shotgun. He soon found himself in some narrow corridors as he looked around, trying to locate her.

As he rounded a corner, Wanda came out from behind him and used her special ability to try and mess with is mind. The feeling however only felt like a tingle to Brendan's mind. Wanda was shocked and confused, her powers could break even the strongest of minds and yet he didn't seem to budge.

And it also alerted him that Wanda was right behind him as Brendan turned around and grabbed Wanda's hand as she struggled to try and escape. But Brendan only seemed to keep her there as he looked directly into her eyes, peering right down into her soul.

"What are you!?" Wanda demanded, still trying to break free.

{ **She's spilled innocent blood, she's guilty!** } Eligos said, which was all the confirmation Brendan needed to hear.

"I guess it's time for you to pay for your sins. . ." Brendan told Wanda as his eyes glowed brightly with orange fire, before the skin on his started to burn off into ashes all the way down to the bone. His eyes vanished out of the sockets of his skull and instead were replaced with two burning red orbs. The skull lit aflame and the scars along the top baseline of the skull glowed brightly. A demonic roar leaving the mouth as the transformation was complete.

Brendan was now the Ghost Rider.

Wanda stared at the now transformed Brendan with fear, it was like the devil was staring right at her. Ghost Rider grabbed Wanda's shoulders as he pinned her to the wall, his glowing orbs staring even deeper into Wanda's soul. Wanda herself slammed her eyes shut as she waited for the end.

Ghost Rider's hand extended out as a fireball manifested into it, he was ready to claim her soul. But as he looked deeper into her soul, he saw something. He saw a frightened little girl, someone who had suffered all her life. She and her brother had their parents taken away from them. Just like Brendan had his taken away from her.

Ghost Rider's head tilted, as the flames seemed to change color to a soft blue. Wanda's eyes opened slowly to see the fireball in his hand vanish. Ghost Rider released Wanda's shoulders and stepped back from her. Before he could walk away, he was blindsided by Pietro who sent him flying down the hall and into the wall.

As Pietro prepared to collect Wanda, she looked at Ghost Rider who was now getting back onto his feet. For some reason, she didn't feel as afraid. She had felt something within him too. Before Brendan had transformed, she saw his eyes. She could see the pain he was holding within him, he had lost something dear to him too.

Her thoughts were interrupted as Pietro grabbed her and zoomed out of the corridor with his super speed, leaving the Ghost Rider behind. Ghost Rider picked himself up, looking back where Wanda had used to be.

{ **You hesitated! Why didn't you take her soul?** } Eligos asked as Ghost Rider seemed to not answer, he instead left the corridor. He needed to regroup with the others.


	5. Monster vs Monster

**Author's Note** : Hey guys! I know it's been a bit since my last update, so I'm here with a new chapter for you guys. I've been getting a bunch of request on when the next chapter is gonna be. I didn't think you guys would like this story so much! I had seen some of my reviews and people wondering how Ghost Rider would fair against the Hulk? Well, read on and find out!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers: Age Of Ultron. I only own my OCs. Everything else belongs to Marvel.

* * *

" **Bitch in black, hard as stone**

 **Need no friends, work alone**

 **Three on one, but they shoulda sent four**

 **Every time you stand up you're back on the floor** "

Location: Salvage Yards, African Coast

[ 3rd POV ]

It wasn't long until Ghost Rider made his way back to the main area of the ship, only to find bodies ( or what's left of them ) of Ultron's soldiers littered all over the ground. That was when he heard the sound of an explosion outside, quickly rushing out the way he came to find Tony taking off into the skies, leaving Ultron's burning remains behind.

Ghost Rider wondered where he was going, as he turned to see the other Avengers being loaded into the Quinjet, they all appeared to have been taken down by Wanda's powers. Making his way over there, Ghost Rider looked upon his fallen teammates. The only one appearing to be fine was Clint who looked upon The Rider with a worried expression.

"I don't know if you can hear me or not, kid. But you need to get to the city, Banner is under Wanda's mind spell and he's raging in the city. And I know your old man isn't gonna be able to take him down..." Clint started to explain.

Within The Rider's mind, Brendan knew for a fact that his father was in trouble and was not gonna be able to handle The Hulk on his own.

" _We have to help him, Eligos. You know how dangerous Banner can be without Nat to calm him down._ " Brendan told Eligos, this time speaking from within the mind.

{ **I get it, we're not gonna let any innocent blood be spilt.** } Eligos replied, before The Rider looked at Clint once more.

" **I will handle this.** " He said, his voice completely dark and demonic as he turned around and headed over to Lucy.

Lucy's appearance had changed, not drastically, but enough to be noticeable. The wheels were now engulfed in a constantly burning hellfire. The blower was emitting the same flames as hellfire emitted from out of the filter holes of the blower. The engine sounded more demonic, almost like an angry lion as it snarled.

Ghost Rider opened the door, climbing inside before throwing the Hell Charger into reverse. The wheels gripping the sand as the car did a full 180 and headed into the direction of the city, leaving behind nothing but trail of flaming tire tracks.

* * *

Location: Johannesburg, South African Coast

Ghost Rider followed the sounds of Hulk's roars combined with sounds of smashing metal/rock/glass/etc, to the center of the town. He found Hulk, but he was currently engaged in a battle with Tony whose armor was more beefed up to Hulk's size. Brendan recalled it being called the Hulkbuster Armor.

Exiting The Hell Charger, Ghost Rider slowly made his way towards the battle. He noticed the civilians he walked by literally gasp in fear of his appearance, some even screaming and running away but paid no mind to it. He grasped his Hellfire Chain, whipping it off his torso as it ignited with flame.

Hulk currently had Tony pinned on his stomach, ferociously tearing apart pieces of the Hulkbuster armor as Tony tried to break free. But he had no way of getting up at this point.

As Hulk raised his fist to prepare to smash the armor even further, a flaming chain wrapped around the raised wrist. The heated metal slowly melded into his incredibly tough skin as Hulk looked over to see Ghost Rider! His red orbs locked onto the green monster as he tugged hard on the chain.

In a shocking twist, Hulk was yanked off Tony and dragged a few feet towards Ghost Rider who undid the chain off of Hulks wrist and wrapped it around his torso. Hulk didn't like this though, and got up to face the Ghost Rider. He released a loud roar at the flaming skulled man, who didn't even flinch.

Ghost Rider roared right back. His roar however was louder as it caused several windows to shatter. Without even thinking it, Ghost Rider ran full sprint at Hulk, who ran at him as well. The two slowly began to close the gap before Ghost Rider lunged at Hulk, who was unable to grab the smaller being as Ghost Rider slammed into his midsection with surprising force.

Hulk hit the ground on his back, hard in fact as Ghost Rider began throwing right hooks at his face.

" _Go to sleep. Go to sleep. Go to sleep, dammit!_ " Brendan yelled as he wasn't trying to kill Hulk, but more rather try to knock him out.

Hulk finally got some ground and grabbed Ghost Rider's fist, and then proceeded to throw him backwards as The Rider bounced off a few cars, then slammed back first into a wall.

Tony, having finally reassembled the missing pieces of his armor using VERONICA, got back up onto his feet to see Ghost Rider pulled himself free from the wall, a roar escaping it's flaming mouth as he whipped out his Hellfire Chain again.

Hulk came charging again, but Ghost Rider reacted appropriately by thrusting the chain forward as it wrapped around Hulk's waist. Hulk looked down, and frantically tried to pull the chain off but the Hellfire was hot enough to burn his hands.

" **LET'S GO FOR A SPIN!** " Ghost Rider yelled as he tugged with both hands, and began to spin around. Hulk was spun around on the end of the chain as the two spun faster and faster. That's when Ghost Rider unwrapped the chain around Hulk's waist, the amount of speed and force sent Hulk smashing through several dozen buildings and out of Rider's vision.

Tony caught up to Rider, looking at how far he had thrown Hulk before looking down at Rider.

"I'll give you an 8 1/2 for that throw." Tony joked as he took off to the skies, flying after Hulk as he knew he could reach him fast enough. Ghost Rider followed on foot, trying to catch up.

By the time he caught up, he could only watch as Iron Man had dropped an elevator car directly onto Hulk followed by catching him in the face with a line drive punch which sent his face right into the ground. Hulk pulled his face from the rubble, and spit out a tooth.

"I'm sorry." Tony said very softly, knowing fully well that he just unleashed the gates of hell and was about to get the hell beaten out of him.

Ghost Rider roared again, gaining the attention of Hulk who smirked at Rider. He walked forward and grabbed an armored truck that was parked next to the building. Hoisting it over his head, he threw it with force at the Ghost Rider who had no react as the truck flew towards him...

" _This is gonna hurt like a motherfu—_ "

...before it slammed into him. The truck then slammed flat against the wall with Ghost Rider buried beneath it.

The truck was immobile at first against the wall, until it began to wiggle and shake until it was finally pushed aside by Brendan. The force of the impact against the wall was enough to knock Brendan right out of his transformation as he looked up to watch an unfinished building collapse.

Of course, he wasn't able to look at it for long as he felt very weak. He was struggling to stand up.

"I think...I'm gonna take a nap now..." Brendan said weakly as exhaustion claimed him, his eyes rolled into the back of his head before he fell flat onto the ground.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Now, I know what you are all thinking: How can Ghost Rider go toe to toe against the Hulk? Well according to the comics, The Ghost Rider's power is limitless and almost God-Like. And he was strong enough to beat a variant of the Hulk known as WW2 Hulk. Ghost Rider has also beaten Doctor Strange in the comics as well. I tend to follow both MCU and the comics. I hope you all enjoyed the chapter!


	6. Familiarity

**Author's Note:** Well, back again with another chapter! I took a couple days to think about new directions I could take this story in and a couple of brilliant ideas hit me. Let's see if I can make it work!

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers: Age Of Ultron or any Marvel Characters. They rightfully belong to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

* * *

" _ **So here I am again**_

 _ **In the middle of the end**_

 _ **The choice I wish I'd made**_

 _ **I always make too late.**_ "

Location: Quinjet, En-Route To [ Unknown Location ]

[ 3rd POV ]

Everyone on the team had taken a hit from the latest encounter from Ultron, some a lot more than others.

Bruce was currently wrapped in a blanket, almost hiding away from the others as he still felt ashamed of what had happened. Clint was currently piloting. The others were scattered amongst the jet as Tony was currently having a conversation with Maria Hill.

The Hell Charger was flying beside the Quinjet, though there was no one in the driver's seat. That was because it was set on auto-pilot.

Brendan was still unconscious, laying on a small bed as he had not awaken from his fight with the Hulk. The fight had caused a bit more stress for Eligos, who was in a recharge state.

"The news is loving you guys. Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." Maria said to Tony.

"Stark Relief Foundation?" Tony replied to Maria, who answered him instantly.

"Already on the scene. How's the team?" Maria asked, as Tony looked back amongst the other Avengers.

"Everyone's...we took a hit. We'll shake it off." Tony told her as he looked over towards his currently unconscious son. Tony couldn't deny that he was impressed and proud of Brendan, to be able to go toe-to-toe with the Hulk. But it worried him too.

That's when Maria decided to speak up again.

"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode, and stay away from here."

Tony didn't like what he was hearing, but it wasn't like he had much choice.

"So, run and hide?" He asked her as Maria nodded.

"Until we can find Ultron, I don't have a lot else to offer."

Tony sighed. "Neither do we." He then proceeded to switch off the monitor as he heard groaning behind him, quickly turning around he saw Brendan beginning to stir as he slowly got up.

"Damn, what the hell..." He looked around, seeing he was back on the Quinjet before looking at Tony.

"How bad?" Brendan got right to the point.

Tony said nothing, only to look away as Brendan sighed softly.

"That bad?" He already knew by that look that they were neck deep in shit, but it wasn't gonna stop him.

Brendan's thoughts were currently in motion, he was thinking of ways to defeat Ultron. He needed more power, the fight with Hulk was almost too much for him. What the others didn't know was that Brendan was holding back a good fraction of Rider's power. If he ever used full power, that would give Eligos full control and there would be no way to stop him.

Brendan needed to find a safer method of using the Rider's power.

* * *

Location: Barton Farm

It wasn't long before the Quinjet touched down near a farm, Clint had called it a Safe House.

A few minutes later, everyone was walking towards the house. As they neared the front door, Thor spoke up.

"What is this place?"

"A safe house." Tony answered as Clint opened the front door, before looking at the group.

"Let's hope so." He told them as they all entered the house. Brendan was still approaching the house, entering the front door as he walked in to see Clint embracing a young girl and a teenage boy.

"Clint! You never told me you had—" Brendan had stopped mid-sentence as his eyes darted to the pregnant female next to Clint, whose gaze locked immediately onto Brendan. The longer they stared at one another, they more the other Avengers noticed tears beginning to form in the woman's eyes.

Brendan stepped forward, past everyone as he approached the female.

"Aunt Lauren?..." Was all he said as the woman, which caught all the Avengers off guard, including Clint.

"I'm sorry, did he just say Aunt?" Tony asked Clint.

"Hey, I'm just as surprised as you are." Clint replied back.

Lauren reached out and caressed Brendan's cheek. "You're alive..." She said before she embraced him in a hug, with Brendan returning the hug as he hugged her back.

"Would someone explain what is going on here? I kinda feel like I'm missing something..." Tony spoke up, as the two broke their hug before Lauren spoke, wiping tears from her eyes.

"Brendan's mother, Daisy Reyes, or as she was known back then as Daisy Barton, was my older sister. She always brought Brendan over to visit when he was just a child. When I heard about the accident that claimed hers and her husband's life, I tried to get Brendan. But he had already been placed in the system before I could get to him..." She said, as she looked at her nephew with a smile, Brendan however felt a small red tint hit his cheeks as he looked away with a chuckle.

"Eight months later, I heard on the news about Tony Stark adopting a child, at first I didn't think anything of it, but the more I looked at him, the more familiar he appeared to be. And now, I know it's my nephew. He has his mother's eyes." Lauren explained.

"I tried to look for Aunt Lauren, but her name came up blank wherever I searched..." Brendan said as he looked back at Lauren.

Lauren sighed "SHIELD hid me from the public eye, after all, my husband is an Avenger..."

Brendan only seemed to nod as he gave her a hug once more before pulling away.

"It's okay, you don't have to apologize. I'm just happy that you're okay." He told her, which caused Lauren to smile.

* * *

It was only about a few hours later that Brendan was leaning over Lucy's trunk, he was using her interactive 3D Holographic unit which was on the trunk of the car.

And on the screens were specs from various Iron-Man suit designs, most of the suits that Tony had built were destroyed when he initiated the clean slate protocol. But he didn't get rid of the schematics, which were on a private server that he and Brendan only had access to. The server had an access code that was constantly changing so Ultron couldn't get to it.

Brendan figured out a safer method on how to properly use Rider's powers without wearing himself out. But he would need to collaborate with his father to do so, he knew the suit technology better than Brendan did.

Speaking of which, Brendan turned to see Tony standing right behind him as he gestured the schematics.

"I almost forgot about our private server, but why are you on it?" Tony asked as Brendan turned all the way around and looked at him.

"I had an idea, a way to channel Eligos's power without burning myself out completely..." Brendan started as Tony's interest were had.

"Whatcha got in mind, son?" He asked him.

"...A suit. Built specifically for The Rider. If we could have the Arc Reactor instead be a Soul Drive, then the risk of me burning out would never become a problem. And Eligos would be able to join in the fight, you'd have more manpower and more firepower." Brendan explained as he turned around and opened up a new schematic.

It was titled " **Mark DCLXVI** '

Tony walked over, looking over the schematics slowly and carefully as a small smirk appeared on his lips. He looked over towards his son and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"I'll need the schematics for the Soul Drive, I'll have FRIDAY start building immediately." He told him as Brendan seemed to smile, he reached into his pocket and pulled out a flash drive which contained the schematics for the Soul Drive. He handed it to Tony.

"Oh, you got a choice on the colors?" Tony asked as Brendan looked up at Tony with a smirk.

"Well, like my dad used to say: If it ain't silver and black, then I don't give a damn."

And the two shared a laugh together.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** DCLXVI is the Roman Numeral for 666. Which I thought was a fitting title for the suit that Brendan will don in the later chapters, because of his powers and where they hail from. Also, I would love to hear suggestions on what the name of the suit should be! Feel free to send me suggestions!


	7. Origins & Evolution

**Author's Note:** Hey Guys! I know it's been a bit since I've posted something so I decided now was the time to do so! This chapter is going to be a more detailed origin story about how Brendan became the Ghost Rider.

 **Disclaimer:** I don't own Avengers: Age Of Ultron. It rightfully belongs to Marvel. I only own my OCs.

* * *

Location: Barton Farm

[ 3rd POV ]

Tony had sent the schematics for Brendan's new suit design to FRIDAY, who was currently fabricating and building the suit. This gave Brendan some time to catch up with Laura, who wanted to speak with him alone.

Brendan was sitting down in the guest room, as Laura walked into the room and closed the door behind her as she sat down next to her nephew. A deep sigh elicited from her lips before looking into Brendan's eyes.

"I heard from Clint about what you can do now, that you can become this...Ghost Rider. How? When did this happen?" Laura asked him, which caused Brendan to down towards the floor.

"It was the night of the accident, the one that took mom and dad from me. There was more to it than you know." He started to speak, as his mind drifted back to seven years ago.

"My parents were bring me back from an outing we all went on. You know how mom loved for me to be more social." That earned a small chuckle from Brendan "We were stopped at a light, behind a van. We never thought anything of it as I was simply enjoying my life. That's when things went wrong. The doors of the van opened and it was revealed to be a gang known as the Fifth Street Locos. They were a big time gang in LA. They attacked us, threw Molotov Cocktails at our car which lit it on fire..." Brendan felt himself tense up, his fist balling up softly.

Unaware to the two of them, they were being listened in on by Steve who had heard them talking. He didn't move, but simply listened to Brendan.

"..My dad was able to get away from them, but only briefly. More Fifth Street began to chase us, one of them got along side us. The passenger had a sub machine gun and sprayed us. My parents taking some of the hits, but I took the full brunt of the gunfire. My parents lost control of the car and it rolled. I was thrown from the car pretty hard, and it wasn't until seconds later that I hit the street..."

Laura nodded, placing her hand on Brendan's own.

"I know that, you explained it to the police. The police said that a witness on the scene thought you were dead." She started, as Brendan looked over towards Laura.

"That's because I was..." Those words caused Laura's eyes to widen in shock at the admission.

"That was the story I told. The chase, the gunfight. That's all true. But that wasn't the whole story. What I remembered most was how scared I was, that I was going to die..." Brendan started, his voice breaking a bit before continuing.

"..now this is the part I never told, the thing I spent years trying to hide. When I was thrown from the car..." Brendan's mind reflected back, the memory of the family car flipping violently as Brendan was thrown out as he flew through the air.

"...I begged god, I begged the universe, I begged anyone who was listening that my family be spared. I swore to give anything to save them..." He felt the tears coming, the floodgates of all the pain he had left in him began to come out as Laura squeezed his hands.

"Don't stop. Then what happened?" She asked him, as Brendan wiped the tears from his eyes.

"Then I hit the street, and I died." He simply said.

Steve was visualizing the memory, he could see a fifteen year old Brendan hitting the street hard, rolling until he was on his back. His body bloodied with bullet holes and bruises. Head scarred from broken glass and sharp metal. Breathless and unmoving.

"I died, and there's nothing, there's just darkness. Then I heard a voice, asking me if I wanted a second chance, did I want to punish those who hurt my family, did I want to avenge my own death? I asked if they could save my family, but they said that their souls had already passed onto heaven. So then I answered yes to their deal, more than anything yes. And then I was alive again..." Brendan found himself unable to keep the tears falling.

"And when I came to, there was someone there. At first, I thought it was some Good Samaritan coming to save me. But when I saw his face, I knew it wasn't a Good Samaritan...it was the devil."

Brendan remembered that moment clearly, when he awoke to the sight of a man with a flaming skull reaching down and touching his face. Then the pain, the intense burning pain he felt. The screams he let out when he transformed into Ghost Rider for the first time, letting out that agonizing demonic roar afterwards.

"Whatever was inside him, he passed it onto me. And that turned out to be Eligos." Brendan finished the story, as Steve could only bow his head. He walked away, knowing he had to tell Tony and the others about what he had found out.

"For the next seven years, Eligos taught me how to master the powers of The Rider and utilize it. So that one day, I could take revenge against the ones who killed them..." Brendan finished as he sniffed, wiping away the tears as Laura embraced her nephew in a hug.

"You may not have been able to save them, but you got to live. And I'm sure they're happy that you're fighting with a purpose. You're an Avenger, and you'll damn well avenge them." Laura said softly as she pressed a kiss to Brendan's forehead, who remained in his aunt's embrace.

* * *

( Twenty Minutes Later )

Brendan and Laura were walking downstairs, and as they entered the living room they found most of the Avengers ( minus Thor and Tony ), were waiting for them. Natasha stepped forward, looking into his eyes before embracing him in a tight hug.

"Steve told us everything..." Was all she said as she held him in her embrace more, hands going through his blonde hair.

"We know you've suffered, you've kept all that pain within you. We want you to know that all of us, are here for you. You lost your family, but in light of that gained a new one..." Steve said to Brendan, who nodded as he looked over to see Tony walk in, and behind him was a face that he never expected to see:

Nick Fury.

* * *

( An Hour Later )

It had gotten much later in the day, and the team had just finished having dinner as everyone was cleaning up. With Fury starting to talk about Ultron.

"Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Fury said to the team.

"What about Ultron himself?" Brendan asked Fury who looked at him.

"Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though." Fury said, with a soft sigh passing his lips.

"He still going after the launch codes?" Tony asked Fury

"Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway." Fury replied.

This earned a soft chuckle from Tony "I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in High School on a dare."

Brendan looked over at his dad with a raised brow. "You serious? You cracked the pentagon on a dare?.." That earned a nod from Tony who smirked proudly.

"Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that." Fury started which caused Steve to chime in.

"NEXUS?" He asked, rather confused.

This was when Bruce spoke up.

"It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth."

"What'd they say?" Clint asked Fury.

"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed." This earned a look from Brendan.

"By whom?" He asked Fury, who responded with "Parties unknown."

"So we got an ally?" Brendan asked Fury.

"Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is." Fury stated as Tony stepped forward.

"I might need to visit Oslo, find our "unknown." Stark said.

That's when Natasha spoke to Fury.

"Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."

Nick turned to Natasha.

"Well, I did hear that you all finally found out about Brendan's secret?" That earned a look of surprise from the young Stark who looked at Fury.

"How did you—" He started but Fury spoke.

"We had our suspicions about you being the new Ghost Rider for a while now. The last rider was a man named Johnny Blaze, and from our intel stated that his last known sighting was in Los Angeles...seven years ago."

Brendan's mind began to put the pieces together, the being he thought was the devil was in fact a Ghost Rider before him. And he had instead passed the torch onto Brendan that night to take up the mantle as the next Ghost Rider.

"Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard." Fury continued, which caused Natasha to look at him with a small smile.

"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." She teased, looking over at Rogers who looked at her with a small smile.

"You know what, Romanoff?" Steve started, which caused Natasha to smile mischievously.

"So, what does he want?" Fury asked the team.

"To become become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies." Steve said.

"Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it." Brendan started, as Natasha looked over at Tony.

"When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." She said to the older Stark, as Bruce was looking down at a picture of a butterfly, which brought a revelation.

"They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve." Bruce said, which caused the team to look at one another.

"How?" Fury asked, which was the million dollar question.

"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" Bruce asked, as Brendan's mind came to the realization.

"Oh shit..." he said out loud.

"Language, Brendan!" Steve said, which earned a glare from Brendan.

"You know what, Rogers?" He started with a small smirk.


	8. Hellstorm

**Author's Note** : I am back! With a new chapter here for you all! I know, it took forever! But a new chapter is finally here! Please, leave me some more reviews! And share any ideas you might have for future chapters? I'd love any input you guys might have?

 **Disclaimer:** I do not own Avengers: Age Of Ultron as it belongs rightfully to Marvel Studios. I only own my OCs.

* * *

" _ **Mayday! Mayday!**_

 _ **The ship is slowly sinking**_

 _ **They think I'm crazy**_

 _ **but they don't know the feeling...**_ "

Location: Seoul, South Korea

Looking at the body lying in the chamber, Wanda wasn't sure if she should feel unnerved or entranced at the possibilities.

Just a few months ago, she had been nothing more than another Sokovian orphan protesting against Tony Stark's new attempt to monopolise the weapons market, and now she was wielding powers beyond anything she could have imagined possible and witnessing the 'birth' of a completely new form of life.

Not only that, but she actually had felt fear for the first time in her life. She hated to admit it, but what Stark's son could do was terrifying. It was something she had never encountered before, not only that, she was powerless against him. When she tried to tap into his mind with her powers, she found herself literally repelled by an unearthly force that protected his mind. It was a sentient mental barrier of some sorts.

But, at the same time, it left her curious. He didn't finish her off and hesitated to do so. Despite the fact that he didn't, she was able to through those red orbs, that burned with such hatred and vengeance, to see deep down the person that was really underneath.

It was someone who could relate to her, someone who had endured just as much pain in their life as she and her brother did.

"Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream," Helen said, as a series of cables linked Ulton's powerful form to the cradle; she might have needed a 'nudge' to get her to work for Ultron rather than her corporate masters, but Wanda was hopeful that she'd realise how she'd been duped once the Avengers were out of the picture. "We're uploading your cerebral matrix...now."

"I can read him," Wanda said, half to herself as she held out a hand over the body; she was still learning everything that she was capable of, but sensing such a potent mind as Ultron's wasn't much of a challenge, even if it was a surprise to sense him after so long just talking to him. "He is dreaming."

"I wouldn't call it dreams," Dr. Cho clarified, as lights glowed within the chamber. "It's Ultron's base consciousness, informational noise. Soon …"

"How soon?" Ultron asked, glancing over from where he sat with a glowing cable in the back of his head. "I'm not being pushy."

"We're imprinting a physical brain," Doctor Cho noted. "There are no shortcuts. Even if your magic gem is…"

Wanda didn't hear the rest of the doctor's speech as she placed her hands on the chamber, reaching out to touch the mind of the new body, and suddenly found herself witnessing an explosion on such a scale that it far surpassed anything she'd ever imagined even Tony Stark's weapons could be capable of.

 _And this was all in Ultron's mind…_

 _This was all in Ultron's plan!_

Screaming in shock, she stepped back from the coffin, taking a moment to register that her brother was alongside her before she looked back at Ultron.

"How could you?" she asked, staring in horror at the machine she had believed was simply acting against the Avengers.

"How could I what?" Ultron asked, as though he honestly didn't know what she might be referring to.

"You said we would destroy the Avengers," Wanda said, wishing she could collect herself faster. "Make a better world-"

"It will be better," Ultron said dismissively.

"When everyone else is dead?"

"That is not-!" Ultron began, before apparently calming himself. "The human race will have _every_ opportunity to improve."

"And if they don't?" Pietro asked; Wanda was grateful that he was trusting her judgement even without knowing what she'd just seen.

"Ask Noah," Ultron said dismissively.

"You're a madman," Wanda said, wishing that she could hide the pain she felt at that discovery; she had thought that she and Pietro had someone they could trust once again, and all the time, they had been nothing more than new weapons in his arsenal against the Avengers…

"There were more than a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs," Ultron noted, leaning over to examine the chamber more closely. "When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it, and believe me, he's winding up. We have to evolve. There's no room for the weak."

"And who decides who's weak?" Pietro asked, as Wanda reached out with her powers to disrupt Ultron's influence over the doctor; it was a move of desperation, but if the older woman had still been aware, she was in a better position to take action than Wanda or her brother right now…

"Life," Ultron said, clearly unaware of what Wanda had just done.

"Life always decides…"

He paused, raising his head as though hearing something. "There's incoming. The Quinjet. And Stark. We have to move."

"That's not a problem," the doctor said, before she tapped a few keys and paused the program uploading Ultron into the new body. Shaking his head in frustration, Ultron fired at the doctor, giving Pietro the chance to grab Wanda and run from the room.

* * *

[ In The Quinjet ]

"I got a private jet taking off, across town, no manifest. That could be him." Natasha spoke from within the Quinjet, Clint was piloting while Brendan was in the back, working on something that was hidden in the shadows.

That's when Clint spotted a truck that had Cho's brand on the side of it. It was running at a good clip too.

"There. It's the truck from the lab. Right above you, Cap. On the loop by the bridge. It's them. I got three with the Cradle, one in the cab. I could take out the driver." Clint asked, ready to take action if told to.

" _Negative! If that truck crashes, the gem could level the city. We need to draw out Ultron._ " Steve replied from the comm as he was on the ground, trying to chase after the truck himself.

Natasha turned back towards Brendan, a smirk on her lips. One that clearly showed her knowing of the sheer excitement he had for testing out his newest 'toy' that he and Tony worked together on.

"You ready to take it out for a spin, kid?" She asked, as Brendan had the biggest grin on his face.

"...let's see how she handles." He said, stepping away to reveal what he was working on. While it was still too hidden, three lights came on that glowed in a fiery whitish color, two represented eyes and the one in the middle was shaped in the insignia of the rider logo on Brendan's jacket.

Natasha kept up that smirk as she radioed Steve again.

"Steve, we're gonna send Brendan down there to assist you."

" _Get him down here, ASAP. He's definitely unhappy! I'm gonna try and keep him that way._ " Steve replied, as Natasha opened the rear door to the Quinjet before looking back at Brendan with a smile and a nod.

"This is your stop." She simply said as Brendan cracked his neck.

"Well, this is what I live for..." Brendan said, as he ran full speed towards the open exit ramp before jumping out of the Quinjet, now in a free fall. "...And I'm absolutely crazy about it!"

With those words said, the item that Brendan was working on came to life, flying out of the back of the Quinjet with excessive speed. It was a pod identical to the Mark VII's Rapid Deployment Suit. Except that it was a metallic black with bits of grey as it shot down towards Brendan, the ground coming fast as the pod broke apart and began to wrap around the younger Stark's body.

* * *

[ With Ultron ]

Ultron had managed to blast Steve back onto the roof of the truck's trailer, and was now hovering onto the roof before landing before him.

"You know what's in that Cradle? The power to make real change, and that terrifies you." He said, as Steve heard the sound of thrusters approaching as he stepped to the side quickly, only for a blazing red repulsor blast knocked Ultron back as he looked up to see what had just shot him...or better yet, who.

At first, he thought it was Stark. But this didn't look like Stark's design, the suit was similar to that of the Mark 39, but it had major design changes. The primary colors of the suit were a metallic black, with steel gray covering the arms and legs. The helmet had been painted to look like that of a skull with scarring decals on the forehead, and sharp jagged teeth near the bottom part of the mask, the eyes glowed a fiery white color. But the dead giveaway was the arc reactor on the chest, it appeared to have a fiery orb swirling within it as the reactor window was shaped in the form of the Ghost Rider symbol.

" **I wouldn't call that much of a comfort, buddy...** " Brendan's voice emitted from the suit, and Ultron found himself scowling at the sight of him.

"So, you decided to become like your father? What should I call you? Iron Jr?" He quipped, trying to get a rise out of the younger Stark.

" **Actually, you can call me...** " Brendan raised his arm up, and a ball of Hellfire manifested out from the repulsor. " **...Hellstorm.** "

He then threw the ball of Hellfire at Ultron, who had to dodge at the last second in order to keep himself from getting knocked off the truck. He quickly advanced towards the younger Stark, but Steve throws his shield and it jams into Ultron's side as he yanked it out from him.

"Stop it!" He then threw the shield off the truck, then blasted Brendan with enough force to knock him off the truck and send him flying into the freeway. He crashed into the pavement hard, creating a large crater in the ground as he pulled himself free.

" **Ow...** " He said simply as he brushed the rubble off the suit, as if it was like an expensive piece of clothing he was trying to keep clean.

" _ **You having issues with the suit already?**_ " Eligos replied, his voice now able to be heard out loud as the chest reactor flashed in sync with his speech.

" **Bite me! I've never used one of these things before...** " Brendan grumbled as he took back to the skies, chasing after Ultron.

By the time that he had gotten back to them, he found that Ultron had taken the fight to a train, which now had a dead driver as it broke through the buffers and was now running towards a civilian population.

" _Brendan, I see you. Can you try and help slow this thing down?_ " Steve asked Brendan over the comms.

" **Sure, I can try? What the hell, that spider dude in New York did it...** " Brendan mused as he flew off towards the front of the train, he noticed a blue blur pushing the civilians out of the way, and it was moving rapidly. He also saw the undercarriage of the train glowing a brilliant scarlet color.

" **The wonder twins are helping us?** " Brendan mused softly, before getting to the front of the train. Knowing what he had to do, he embraced the front of the train as tightly as he could before cutting off the powers to his thrusters, using his feet to try and bring the train to a stop.

His legs were literally making divots into the ground as the train slowly came to a stop. Finally stopping in the center of a market center as he hovered out of the divot, making his way over where Steve, Pietro and Wanda were before landing with them.

" **Man, that just beats the hell out of leg day at the gym...** " Brendan mused as the helmet retracted back, revealing his face underneath. He did manage to get a little cut on the side of his face that was still bleeding, probably from when Ultron sucker punched him off the truck.

" _ **That was fun! We need to do that again!**_ " Eligos said rather excitedly as Brendan rolled his eyes from that comment.

Pietro and Wanda were sitting there, a bit surprised to see the younger Stark had now donned a suit of his own, but weren't /that/ surprised. He was a Stark, it was no coincidence that he'd make his own.

"Did you get the Cradle?" Wanda asked Steve.

"Stark will take care of it." Steve replied, as Wanda looked unsure of that.

"No, he won't." She responded back, rather bluntly.

"Look, you don't know what you're talking about. My dad is many things, but crazy isn't one of them." Brendan stepped in, trying to defend his father.

"He will do anything to make things right..." Wanda said to Brendan, who was ready to respond back but paused. She really did have a point there, he /did/ have that habit.

"Stark, come in. Stark. Anyone on comms?" He tried to get ahold of Tony, but there was nothing but silence. Which worried Brendan.

"Ultron can't tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?" Wanda spoke, as her words really did leave Brendan wondering if his father would really try to destroy what was in the cradle...

...or attempt to finish what Ultron had started?


End file.
